~~this one-shot is given tribute to my childhood OTP and my forevers!
warning: I WISH I owned this T^T Tim Burton is my favorite director and artist of all time! and I love this movie since I was a little baby! but sadly I don't... so that's great-~~
Jack was stumped. He currently sat at his office table as Mayor 2-faced went on and on about what to do for next Halloween, but the pumpkin king couldn't really care less. After all, it's only November 10th, he has plenty of time to think of what to do next year.
He had his feet kicked up on his big office table that was stacked with piles of sheets and scrolls, leaning his boney chin on his skeletal stick fingers. He tapped his skull as his non existent eye-brows narrowed in deep thought. He couldn't care less about Halloween at the moment, for something much more important to him was just waiting right around the corner.
"So what do you think, Jack?" The mayor asked the skeleton. He finally spared his boss a glance only to realize he didn't answer and wasn't even looking at him. The smile face he had on simply switched to his worried expression as it usually does. "Jack?" He asked again. No answer. Was his boss even listening to him?
"JACK!" He shouted to finally get the pumpkin king's attention. "Huh?" He simply asked, his hollow brain fully shutting down. "Did you not hear me!?"
The skeleton simply sighed, readjusting his seating position and buried his skull in his hands, "Sorry, Mr. Mayor. My mind was in a different place."
"Is something wrong, sir? You haven't been yourself since our Halloween party." Then it (sort of) hit him, "Awe, do you miss our holiday already? Don't worry, we'll celebrate again next year! In fact that's what I've been doing here this whole time! To help with the plans-"
"It's not Halloween I'm worried about, Mayor. It's..." Jack stood up and went to the window to look at the big clock representing the time before their next Halloween. "It's another holiday I'm worried about..." He mumbled.
Now the mayor was confused. "And what would that be, sir?"
Jack sighed again, "Christmas..."
The mayor then started to panic. "AGAIN!? I don't mean any disrespect Jack, but don't you remember what happened LAST TIME we tried Christmas!? It was a DISASTER!" He exclaimed, earning a soft chuckle from the pumpkin king.
"Don't worry, I'm well aware.. It's not actually Christmas I'm worried about." He looked back with a soft smile as to ease the mayor's nerves, which thankfully worked well as the mayor's face switched to his usual cheery smile. "But..." he said carefully, making the mayor's head spin to his now scared blue face.
"B-b-b-b-'but'?" Jack turned back to the window and this time eyed Spiral hill where he remembered his first kiss there.
"it's me and Sally's 4th Christma-versary."
Silence. Dead. Awkward. Silence.
The Mayor's face simply fell into another of confusion as he tried to process what his boss just said. "I'm sorry, but Christma-verseh-what?"
Jack smiled at the thought and fully turned to his right hand man. "Christma-versary! The very reason me and Sally are together is because Christmas brought us together! So we decided to make a tradition to celebrate our relationship every year on Christmas day!"
It took Mr. Mayor a moment before his face switched back to his happy go-lucky side, "Oh! So your Anniversary on Christmas! Clever!" He seemed to notice Jack's look of uncertainty and his warm smile dropped a bit, "But then... what's the problem?"
"I just have no idea what to give her for her present! I've given her a tour of Christmas town like she wished, I gave her a beautiful amulet that wrote a special passage of my love for her, and I gave her her own sewing machine and a shop to pursue her dreams as a fashion designer! But this year..." Jack paused his rant and took a sigh, "I mean, what can you get for the perfect woman?" He looked back at the Mayor and saw his mouth dropped.
"You gave her all of that!? sheesh, what did she give you?"
Jack smiled, "A beautiful painting, a new suit that she made herself, and a trip to Valentines town" he said the last part bashfully. It was at that very moment Jack was immediately grateful he had no blood coursing through him, other wise the blushing on his face would give away what sort of... ahem... activities the 2 did during their time in Valentines town.
Mr. Mayor finally gave a thoughtful expression as he tapped his wooden non-existent chin, "I see, so you just don't know what to give her for your Christma-vers... Christa-merserv... Oh I give up!" He exclaimed, "You just don't know what to give Sally for your special occasion! Correct?" Jack nodded defeatedly.
The mayor then switched his 2 faced to his happier side. "Well, you have a lot of time on your hands! No need to worry!" Jack gave a small smile back.
"I guess you're right.."
"I'M RUNNING OUT OF TIME, I'M RUNNING OUT OF TIME!" Jack exclaimed as he paced around his office.
He looked through every paper, every file, every scroll that he had lying around his tower. He went through all the books of Christmas. He constantly wrote on the blackboard about plausible procedures and formulas, but immediately scratched them put as the answers were not what he needed. He looked through books on presents, women psychologies, and even rag doll voodoo science. Nothing. "No no no! RAGH! NOTHING!"
He threw his hands up in frustration. "I JUST WANT TO GIVE SALLY THE PERFECT GIFT! IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK!?" He asked to particularly no one, before sighing in defeat and sitting in his chair. Just then, the mayor timidly walked in.
"Um... Sir? I-is this a bad time?" he peeked his worried sided face through the door.
Jack sighed again, "No.. You may come in, Mr. Mayor. Is there something you need?"
"I... I just wanted to make sure you're doing okay. You haven't left your tower all of November transferring to December, and by the sounds of it, it seems as if you're having a panic attack!" The Mayor asked with genuine concern. You see readers, after Jack's father retired and gave the job as king of Halloween town to his son, Jack would always have panic attacks under the immense pressure of ruling over a town. He likes to pretend he's fine, but he was actually cracking bit by bit. And instead of the 'normal' anxiety attacks where people have trouble breathing and fall under fear, Jack falls into deep frustration and isolation.
During the time Jack's panic attacks started getting out of hand, Sally was just brought to life. And after the occurrence of being save by Jack from the now deceased Oogie Boogie, Sally has encountered Jack in the cemetery always letting out his anger and fear. Sally taught Jack a coping mechanism and he's been using it ever since. Not one of the villagers have heard any of his anxiety attacks since. Whenever the coping mechanisms didn't work, Sally was the first he would go to to talk out his frustration. Jack sighed sadly at the thought. She was always there for Jack when he needed her, all he wanted was to pay her back in gratitude and love. He bowed his head in shame.
"Great.. the whole town must've heard my outburst.." He grumbled, "I'm running out of time, Mayor. Christmas is right around the corner and I still haven't thought of ANYTHING! I've asked everyone in the village, went through all my old Christmas research, and nothing! I even had to ask Lock, Shock, and Barrel ALONG with Dr. Finklestein!"
Mr. Mayor tilted his head in confusion, "...Okay... I understand your problem with the trick-or-treaters, but what's wrong with Dr. Finklestein? I mean, I know he's insane but..."
"I've heard in the human world that people - specifically men - believe that the worst fear, even worse than any of US combined, is looking the love of your life's father in the eye to ask them for their blessing." Jack explained.
"And this comes to terms with Dr. Finklestein, why?" The mayor asked honestly.
"Sally sees Dr. FinkleStein as her closest father, since he created her anyway. Do you even contradict how awkward it was to ask your lover's literal father what to get her for something as personal and intimate as what me and Sally have? 1 word; VERY."
Mr. Mayor opened his mouth, but immediately closed it when he realised how Dr. Finklestein can... Behave... "Yeah, okay, I see your point. And even HE didn't know what you should do?"
"NO CLUE! I mean sheesh, I know Sally complains about him not understanding her, but I didn't expect him to downright be CLUELESS of any of Sally's interests and desires! I know the feeling..." he sighed. In truth, when Jack's father ruled, he was always busy, and never really had time for poor Jack. Which was why he was a shameless mama's boy. Jack and his father never had the best relationship, which made Sally's daddy issues instantly relatable. Well, at least he has one thing to thank his father for. For bring Sally and Jack's relationship closer.
He shook the thought away, "Anyways, it's now December 15th! and I STILL have no present for Sally! Christmas is in 10 exact days! How am I supposed to make up more time for that?" he buried his skull in his hands. Mr. Mayor felt sorry for Jack. He took a moment to think for himself.
Suddenly, an imaginary lightbulb popped in his hollow head, and he switched his face to his usual cheery one as usual. "You start by looking somewhere else!" This earned Jack's attention. the Skeleton raised his face to look at the beaming Mayor, and tilted his head along with cocking up a boney eye-brow. "what do you mean? I've looked practically everywhere!" He exclaimed.
"Not necessarily," The Mayor interjected, "Think about it, you said it yourself! What got you and Sally together in the first place?" He gave a smug smile as Jack wore a childish curious expression. He thought for a moment... And then it hit him! It hit him hard!
"Of course! I HAVE been looking in the wrong place! What better way to find someone the perfect gift then going to the king of gifts himself that also fixed us together! Thank you Mayor, you're a GENIUS!" He hugged the tiny mayor compassionately and ran out of his tower for the first time in almost a month.
The mayor chuckled, as he remembers the one other time Jack got this excited. "The things creatures do for love."
Jack did his best to remain unseen. by both the villagers in his town and the people in Christmas town. Christmas town, of course! How could he be so blind! Nothing like going to the very town that started something this special between him and Sally to ask advise from the man who works specifically for gift exchanges in the first place.
As Jack finally makes it to "Sandy Claws'" door, a warm feeling bursted in between his rib cage. Oh the memories of this place! He hadn't seen the colorful lights and the "white fluffy stuff" all around him in nearly 3 years! The very thought of this place can leave him giddy.
Jack knocked on the door that led to Santa's home, slightly jumping to himself in excitement and determination. Soon enough, a short and old, but still kind woman in all red with a white kitchen apron opened the door. "Oh my!" She exclaimed a bit. Jack smiled sweetly. He knows she's seen him before, and she knows that too, but one would guess that after not seeing a familiar face for a while, it can certainly surprise someone after they just come right out of the blue. The humble lady put on her tiny circular glasses as her chapped lips curled into a weary smile, "Jack dear, don't scare me like that!" She joked.
"Apologies, Mrs. Claws, but that's the duty for the pumpkin king." He joked back, trying to sound formal as he took a playful bow, making Mrs. Claus chuckle. "Charmer. And to what do we owe the pleasure of the 'oh great pumpkin king' on our doorstep?"
Jack nervously chuckled at the title, "Well, if it's not too much trouble, I would like to speak with Sandy Claws," He asked.
Mrs. Claus nodded her head, "Of course! We're always welcome to our old friends! Would you like something to eat? I was just about to take out the gingerbread cookies!" She welcomed him inside to the toasty and comfy house. Jack politely denied, "It's quite alright. I just REALLY need to talk with Sandy! It's very important!"
Mrs. Claus frowned in concern, "Oh my! Is there something wrong?" Jack rubbed the back of his skull nervously, "That is for my concern, Mrs. Claws, don't you worry."
"Well I'm sure whatever it is, I'm sure my husband will know what to do." she comforted, placing a tiny hand on his skeletal arms. Jack just smiled.
"I have no idea what to do." Santa said bluntly and honestly, while sitting on his chair and counting all the nice and naughty kids on his list. Jack's hope instantly deflated as he threw his hands in the air in frustration, "What do you mean you don't know what to do? I can't just go on my Christma-versary empty handed and let down my Sally! I searched everywhere, checked every book and everyONE but no one has the slightest clue of what I should give her! I thought if I came to the KING OF PRESENTS himself, I would have at least SOMETHING!" He bursted, causing Santa to give him a dead-panned look.
"Do you want to go on my naughty list and receive coal this Christmas?" He threatened, making Jack instantly calm down, "No, Sandy..."
The skeleton sighed. "I just wanna give Sally the perfect gift. She's done so much for me, at the very least I would want to repay her..." he finally admitted sadly. Santa noticed Jack's expression and put down his list. He walked over to Jack and...
Smacked him across the face, causing a cry of both alarm and pain from the skeleton, as he backed up and rubbed his now sore cheekbone. "OW!"
"Oh, buck up, crybaby! You're the pumpkin king for crying out loud, it's about time you start bloody acting like it!" He finally said, which made Jack glare. "What the friggen heck was that for?" He asked.
"Watch your mouth young man! Whining about what you don't have will get you nowhere!" Santa put his hands on his wide hips. Jack only pouted.
"That still doesn't explain why you had to hit me.." Jack mumbled solemnly.
"You kids these days always complain about what you don't have, which is mainly answers! When what you should be thinking about is the blessings you have in your life!... Or... Death..." Santa said firmly, ignoring the skeleton's remark. The said skeleton just tilted his head in confusion.
"Listen to me, sunny boy, do you love Sally?" Santa asked honestly, to which in turn made Jack glare offendedly. why on earth would he ever ask that question. "Of COURSE I love Sally! She's the love my life! I would die a second death for her sake!" He exclaimed.
Santa finally smiled, he knew Jack was telling the truth, "Then it doesn't matter what you get her!" Jack's face read defeated confusion, he really cares for Santa, but there were times where his confusion was very tiring to the king. "I'm sorry, what?" He finally asked, causing Santa to roll his eyes.
"Look, It doesn't matter what priceless gift you get her. No matter what gift you buy or craft, no item can explain what you feel about her, right?"
"right..." Jack replied doubtfully. "It only matters what's the meaning BEHIND the gift. It's the thought that truly counts! As a famous person has once said, 'he who loves with purity, considers not the gift of the lover, but the love of the giver'." Santa smiled softly, patting the still confused Jack on the back.
"He who what does where to when now?" He asked quite timidly and stupidly. "Just get the girl something that represents your love for her. If she's the love of your life like you say, then prove it. Now get!" He shoved the clueless skeleton out the door of his house. "You've rudely interrupted me and Mrs. Claus'... 'ginger night'.." He said the last part quite lustfully as he closed the door.
Jack, was about to walk away right before he heard a familiar woman giggling and then a 'THUMP THUMP'. His eye sockets grew wide as his mouth dropped agape. "Oh... THAT'S ginger night..." He shuddered and shook his head quickly to get the disturbing image out of his head. He walked down the outskirts of the town and scratched the top of his skull in thought. "Okay... At least I'm given SOME idea of what to get... but how am I supposed to-" He stopped as the realization hit him.
It made sense, they've been talking about this for around 2 years. They've been together along enough, and he's been wanting this for a while. "get the girl something that represents your love for her. If she's the love of your life like you say, then prove it."
"I know exactly what to get her!" He revelled happily as he ran out of town to get to work.
December 25th came as quickly as it was about to leave. Jack was pacing around his living room with his hands behind his back, but this time it wasn't because he was stumped, he was more on the verge of nervousness and cOMPLETE AND UDDER FEAR! I mean, wouldn't you be too if you were about to do something that could potentially save or destroy your relationship. Jack somewhat laughed at the thought. The king of Halloween town, the most feared and respected creature in the world, scared? How ironic indeed.
Instead of his usual black and white tuxedo, he wore a simple grey suit with a grey dead bat wrapped around his neck, with it's wings folded out so as to look like a tie. A blood red rose decorated the side of his chest as he held the simple weed flower that Sally always likes to pick. He stopped short and demonstrated the flower to himself, he sighed to calm himself down. This is it! He thought.
Just then, his bedroom door opened, calling cue that his lover would be standing there. "Oh, Sally! Are you ready tooooOOoooh..." He mumbled as he seemed to stumble upon Sally, his Sally, standing at his room door with a timid smile on her bright red lips.
Her hair, instead of it's usual straightness, was primed and curled just a bit, making it wavy and flowly. She wore a simple red dress with spaghetti strips holding it on her shoulders, with a deep slit that stopped just above her thigh, revealing her modest, but nonetheless beautiful blue and stitched up toned legs. Her neck was decorated with a blue amulet that had a sparkling hue dimming around it. If you look closely you could see that there were words embedded in it. Specifically the words 'I love you' in many different languages. She looked at her feet, "How do I look, Jack..?" She asked innocently.
Jack's jaw literally dropped to the ground - no seriously, it fell from his skull onto the floor - as he thought, sweet mother of the devil she's perfect! with wide eyes. Sally giggled at his reaction. Jack shyly picked his jaw back up and lifted it back to his chin. He regained his composure and gave Sally a loving smile.
"You're as gorgeous as the day I first laid his eyes on you." He sighed happily. How Jack was so lucky to have someone like her in his once lonely life was beyond him. He truly thought he didn't deserve her. Sally walked up to Jack and adjusted his bat tie with the same look in her eyes. "you don't look bad yourself, Jackie~" She said warmly. Jack would have blushed at the cute nickname (if he had blood-) and bent down to lightly kiss Sally on the lips.
It was short and sweet, and when he pulled away his smile was replaced with a smirk. "Well, Someone very special made this for me." He had just now noticed the amulet around her neck, "Hey! That's the amulet I gave you in our second year!" Sally giggled again, "It's very important to me. It serves as a special reminder."
"What reminder would that be?" He asked, truly curious.
Sally smiled, "That I'm yours." Jack smiled back. He bent down and kissed her warm cheeks.
"For now and for always." And that's a promise. He said and thought sweetly. Sally beamed in pure happiness. She really was one lucky gal. And little did she know how right she would be.
A thought then popped into Sally's head. "Oh yes! I need to show you the present I got you!" She took his boney hand and led him to the back yard of his castle. Jack just chuckled in amusement seeing Sally this excited. As they reached the back door, Sally turned to Jack with a huge smile oh her face.
"Now Jack, I want you to close your eyes." Jack shrugged and did as told. Sally opened the door and took his hand to lead him outside. "You're not peeking, are you?" She teased.
Jack chuckled again. "Of course not, my love."
Sally nodded and pulled on Jack's arm until they were both in front of a quite enlarged item wrapped in a cloth, she let go of Jack's hand and grabbed on the cloth, ready to swipe it off. "Okay Jack, you can open your eyes!" When Jack did, she quickly removed the raggedy fabric, revealing a shiny techno controlled sled with polished red and gold to decorate it. A nice engine was just under the base of the sled, meaning you don't need reindeer's to pull on it, you just use the controls and the wheel that was placed at the center of the drivers seat. It was magnificent! Jack gasped in surprise and happiness!
"Do you like your gift?" Sally asked hopefully. "Like it? I LOVE it! Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness! Y-you bought me a SLED!" He laughed wholeheartedly and hugged Sally, even going as far as pulling her off the ground and spinning her around in glee. "Oh thank you! Thank you so much Sally, I absolutely love it!" He placed her back on the ground and quickly kissed her. "This is amazing!" Sally giggled.
"I actually made it with the help of Egor, Dr. Finklestein's assistant! Quite a sweetheart actually... And I'm glad you like your gift!" Jack smiled widely. And then he realised something.
"Why don't we first take this for a spin?" He offered. "Really? You want to try it now?" Sally asked unsurely, to which Jack replied with a shrug.
"Better than walking to where we're going." He climbed into his seat and reached out his hand to Sally. "Just trust me on this, okay?" He said sweetly.
Sally always seemed to lose herself when Jack would look at her like that, and speak in that charming soothing voice of his. She could listen to that voice for hours. She smiled softly and took his hand in order to climb in next to him. "Do you even know how to use this yet?" She playfully asked, perking up an amused eyebrow.
Jack gave his usual howl of a laugh, "Of course not! But I'm willing to learn!" He struck his finger on the on button and pressed on it to start it up. He accidentally placed his foot on the speed peddle and went forward too quickly, almost knocking him, Sally, and the sled against a couple of boxes that were placed in the backyard. If Sally actually had lungs and a heart, she would've had a heart attack. She panted with each breath as Jack nervously chuckled.
"Like I said... Learning." He went to reverse and took the sled back to it's original spot. He searched around as if he was looking for something important. "Anyway I could fly this thing?" He asked with a cheeky smile, making Sally shake her head with a smile on her face.
"There's the fly button right there. Though I suggest you press it with caution for it might-" Before she could finish however, Jack already pressed the button quickly, causing them to shoot up. "WHOA!" They both exclaimed.
Jack quickly took the wheel and turned it a couple of times so that the sled was now right side up. "Ehehe..." He nervously chuckled while Sally just laughed in both the rush of excitement and final relief. "Sorry.." He apologised with a sheepish smile.
"Think nothing of it, you were just excited." She waved it off. "So, where are we going, Jack?" She asked curiously, making Jack further more nervous as that question only reminded him what he was about to do. He took a steady breath and looked back at Sally with a warm smile.
"Back to where we knew we were meant to be." And with that, he led the sled to Spiral hill. He parked the sled at the base and took Sally's hand to lead her up the hill.
This spot was very important to both Sally and Jack, for it was the place they confessed to each other. They haven't visited this place much do to Jack's extra load of work recently, but it still held a special place in both their non-existent hearts. Sally shortly gasped at what she saw. Dead rose petals decorated the floor accompanied by warm candle light dancing around the hill. And with a prefect view of both the town, the snow, and the moon made the area all the more beautiful.
"Jack..." Sally took a step forward and examined the area. "This is amazing..." She noticed Jack sheepishly playing with his boney fingers. A anxiety habit for him, and when she saw that she instantly grew worried. "Jack are you alright?"
Jack took a shaky breath to calm himself down. "Well... Um... Oh goodness how do I put this..." He mumbled. "You know I... Didn't give you your present yet.."
Sally smiled sadly and placed her hands on his revealed chest. "Jack, you don't need to give me a gift, being with you is just enough for me." Jack smiled back.
"Actually Sally... I want to change that." He said seriously, worrying Sally. "What do you mean?"
"Sally, the very moment I laid eyes on you, I felt something... Weird. But a good kind of weird!" He started, "At first, I didn't understand what it was, and I'll admit I had to cast it aside for a while. But then Christmas rolled around, and I saw you in a different light. You were very helpful towards me, and though I was stubborn and didn't take your advise and your warnings, I fully appreciated all you did for me either way. And then I realised that you were trying to set things right yourself by rescuing Santa from Oogie Boogie, and I felt the same tingling sensation I felt When I first saw you, and also when I first discovered what Christmas was. Where my usual hollow and empty bones filled with joy and warmth, it was then that I realised it was more than happiness when it came to you..." He smiled lovingly. "It was love."
Sally's worries eased as she shyly smiled back, moving a strand of hair away from her face and looking at the ground. "And these 4 years of being yours was the best of my life!... Or death hehe... You've done so much for me these past years, and I'm eternally grateful! I'll be honest, I didn't really know what to give to you in return of your love and gratitude, I'm not even kidding when I say I was scattered all over the place!" He chuckled shyly, making Sally giggle.
"But after some help, I realised that I wanted to give you something that comes from the bottom of my hollow heart that only you could ever fulfil.. My true desire... So, Sally Finklestein..."
He finally took his present from his back pocket. A tiny red box was presented to his rag doll as he got down on one knee. Sally clasped her tiny hands over her mouth, covering a gasp and trying to sustain tears. To her correct suspicions, the box opened to reveal a beautiful blood red colored ring. It was modest, because Jack knew she wasn't a fan of big and fancy. A black tourmaline crystal was embedded at the center of the ring, carved into the image of her favorite weed flower.
Jack smiled eagerly, "Will you do me the honors of being my wife and partner for eternity?"
Sally finally let tears fall as she stood Jack up and hugged him tight, "Yes Jack! Yes I will!" Jack chuckled in relief and picked up his now fiance, and spun her around in the air as they both laughed and cried together happily. When Jack set her he kissed all over her face in overjoy, before pulling her into another tight hug. He finally took out the ring and placed it on her ring finger.
Sally examined the ring, and smiled brightly. "I love it! This is the best christma-versary ever! Thank you, Jack." She wrapped her arms around the king's neck.
Jack slipped his hands around her waist to pull her closer, "You're welcome, my love. And happy Christma-versary."
"It certainly is the happiest." And with that, they kissed eachother passionately, letting the night take them away.
Happy holidays to all and your loved ones. ;)
"He who loves with purity, considers not the gift of the lover, but the love of the giver"
~Thomas A Kempis
~~wow! my first non-kfp story! I wanted to give tribute for this movie since it's Christmas and I love this movie with all my heart!
make sure to R&R so I can improve! remember to live, laugh, love, have a merry Christmas and a happy holidays to you all, and until next time... Yarart... OUT! XP ~~